An Arizona utility commissioner said he's willing to pull the plug on Los Angeles if the city goes through with a boycott of his state.

In a letter to the city of LA, a member of Arizona's power commission said he would ask Arizona utility companies to cut off the power supply to Los Angeles. LA gets about 25 percent of its power from Arizona.

"That is one commissioner who has that idea -- whether he can do that or not is another idea," said LA Councilman Dennis Zine. "They are the ones who have to make the move, not us."

The commissioner's power grid play is in response to the city's approval of a resolution directing city staff to consider which contracts with Arizona can be terminated.

Here's part Arizona Corporation Commission member Gary Pierce's letter to the mayor:

If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation.

I am confident that Arizona’s utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands. If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona’s economy.

The full text was sent to the blog Hot Air.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is in Washington D.C., meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, but his deputy chief of staff issued the following statement: "The mayor stands strongly behind the city council and he will not respond to threats from the state that has isolated itself from an America that values freedom, liberty and basic civil rights."

Councilmember Tom LaBonge said he'd like to talk with Pierce. LaBonge said the city needs to look into its long standing utility agreements with Arizona.

LaBonge met Wednesday morning with LA Department of Water and Power officials.

"We have right of ownership of the power plants," LaBonge told NBCLA. "We partially own them."

Other California cities, including Oakland and San Francisco, have passed similar measures.

On Tuesday, Berkeley became the latest California city to boycott Arizona. The City Council voted unanimously to restrict staff from traveling to the state on city business.

SB 1070 -- here's the text of the law -- empowers local law enforcement to check the immigration status of suspects they have stopped for other reasons if there is a reasonable suspicion they are in the country illegally. The law specifically bars police from racial profiling.

The Arizona Republic newspaper recently asked a panel of experts to outline how the law would work in real-world situations. The experts' interpretations varied when it came to what happens at the point a law encforcement officer can or should ask about a person's status.

Care about the future of California's cash, kids and jobs? Read Prop Zero, our state politics blog, and join the conversation @PropZero on Twitter.

NateR

05-20-2010, 01:14 AM

WAR ARIZONA!!! :laugh::laugh::laugh:

atomdanger

05-20-2010, 01:16 AM

Hell Yeah.

NateR

05-20-2010, 01:31 AM

[SIZE="5"]but his deputy chief of staff issued the following statement: "The mayor stands strongly behind the city council and he will not respond to threats from the state that has isolated itself from an America that values freedom, liberty and basic civil rights."

What a lying piece of garbage this man is. This is a total and deliberate misrepresentation of what Arizona is trying to do.

flo

05-20-2010, 01:39 AM

Good, Arizonans have cojones.

I can't wait to see how LA responds, hopefully it would affect Berserkly too...

flo

05-20-2010, 01:41 AM

What a lying piece of garbage this man is. This is a total and deliberate misrepresentation of what Arizona is trying to do.

Hear, hear. The same can be said for BO, Holder, Napolitano and that state dept. schmuck, they've ALL been misrepresenting the bill. Make that lying.

Mac

05-20-2010, 01:46 AM

I WANT TO MOVE TO ARIZONA!!!!!!

Spiritwalker

05-20-2010, 02:01 AM

I WANT TO MOVE TO ARIZONA!!!!!!

Great Idea... I would like to as well!!!! Just the idea that they have the spine to stand up to the pressure... ROCKIN!!!!

J.B.

05-20-2010, 03:23 AM

It's definitely a bold statement, which is typical of this state, however from what I've been reading and hearing about it on the radio it's not going to happen. I don't think it helps anybody to have this type of tension, but leave it to wacky liberals in California to stick their nose in our business and try to hurt our economy.

California needs to worry about fixing it's own problems instead of focusing their attention on boycotting us.

ufcfan2

05-20-2010, 04:20 AM

I actually support AZ on this!!

MattHughesRocks

05-20-2010, 04:29 AM

Yeah, good luck with that AZ. LA is too gangsta to put up with that crap:laugh:

J.B.

05-20-2010, 04:44 AM

Yeah, good luck with that AZ. LA is too gangsta to put up with that crap:laugh:

If the liberals in LA don't like the fact that Arizona wants to get rid of illegal aliens, they should be lobbying to let all the illegal aliens roam free in California, not boycotting our great state.

California is bleeding money, they should worry about that problem rather than sticking their noses in our business. We are neighbors and we are supposed have a positive relationship. Our governments shouldn't be wasting time on boycotting any states, that is beyond stupid. I personally can't stand San Francisco, like a LOT of other people who aren't liberal or gay, but I don't feel the need to "boycott" the city.

MattHughesRocks

05-20-2010, 05:18 AM

I wished everybody would boycot California AND if we could keep the illegal's out... It's every born California's dream:laugh:

flo

05-20-2010, 06:32 AM

If the liberals in LA don't like the fact that Arizona wants to get rid of illegal aliens, they should be lobbying to let all the illegal aliens roam free in California, not boycotting our great state.

Great point, I wonder how many Berkeley will take?

:Whistle:

J.B.

05-20-2010, 08:27 AM

834b. (a) Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully
cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization
Service regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is
suspected of being present in the United States in violation of
federal immigration laws.
(b) With respect to any such person who is arrested, and suspected
of being present in the United States in violation of federal
immigration laws, every law enforcement agency shall do the
following:
(1) Attempt to verify the legal status of such person as a citizen
of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent
resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time
or as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of
immigration laws. The verification process may include, but shall not
be limited to, questioning the person regarding his or her date and
place of birth, and entry into the United States, and demanding
documentation to indicate his or her legal status.
(2) Notify the person of his or her apparent status as an alien
who is present in the United States in violation of federal
immigration laws and inform him or her that, apart from any criminal
justice proceedings, he or she must either obtain legal status or
leave the United States.
(3) Notify the Attorney General of California and the United
States Immigration and Naturalization Service of the apparent illegal
status and provide any additional information that may be requested
by any other public entity.
(c) Any legislative, administrative, or other action by a city,
county, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with
jurisdictional boundaries, or by a law enforcement agency, to prevent
or limit the cooperation required by subdivision (a) is expressly
prohibited.

Looks like California is going to have start boycotting itself, because their own penal code sounds a LOT like SB 1070...:rolleyes:

rockdawg21

05-20-2010, 11:56 AM

Looks like California is going to have start boycotting itself, because their own penal code sounds a LOT like SB 1070...:rolleyes:
Yeah, but just like Arizona, they need to pass a law to enforce the existing law. :blink: WTF?!?!

County Mike

05-20-2010, 12:32 PM

War Arizona!

I went there for my honeymoon. My uncle moved there a few years ago.

Frankly, any city/state choosing to boycott another state is just dumb.

J.B.

05-20-2010, 12:54 PM

Yeah, but just like Arizona, they need to pass a law to enforce the existing law. :blink: WTF?!?!

That is certainly the paradox in this case, it would seem.

However, to my understanding, Section 834b has been a part of the California Penal Code for over a decade. Where has all the outrage been against Cali over the last 10 years? :rolleyes:

Bonnie

05-20-2010, 02:22 PM

From what I can see, they don't have a problem WITH the law, they just have a problem with anyone trying to ENFORCE it. :rolleyes:

I guess it's just for show. It's on the books, but it's meaningless. :wink:

MattHughesRocks

05-20-2010, 03:06 PM

Well AZ please don't cut the lights off til Tuesday because I'm headed there today until Monday morning :laugh:

J.B.

05-20-2010, 03:57 PM

Well AZ please don't cut the lights off til Tuesday because I'm headed there today until Monday morning :laugh:

My guess is that you will be fine. :laugh:

I really don't think they can do it without a huge legal battle, nor should they. It's petty and silly to have this crap going back and forth. :ashamed:

rearnakedchoke

05-20-2010, 06:30 PM

AZ doesn't have the stones to pull this off ... they will crumble just like McCain did when he tried to rescind MLK Jr day in AZ ...

Miss Foxy

05-20-2010, 06:47 PM

Oh heck no!! I need electricity for my flat iron, blow dryer, and AC!! I am gonna be one nappy headed B if this happens!!:laugh:

Bonnie

05-20-2010, 07:08 PM

My guess is that you will be fine. :laugh:

I really don't think they can do it without a huge legal battle, nor should they. It's petty and silly to have this crap going back and forth. :ashamed:

I agree. But, it's all about "leverage". I think it's wrong for people to boycott Arizona. I think they should boycott the federal government instead. They are helping people break the law and then rewarding them for it. :punch:

Cal-ee-fornia better watch it....their power grid may go down and summer's coming on. It happened before in early 2000 albeit due to a lot of shenanigans and greed. The human factor is always an iffy thing. It isn't wise to tick off the person who controls the switch. :laugh:

J.B.

05-20-2010, 08:31 PM

AZ doesn't have the stones to pull this off ... they will crumble just like McCain did when he tried to rescind MLK Jr day in AZ ...

It wasn't McCain who tried to rescind MLK day in Arizona, it was former Gov Mecham. Evan Mecham was a crooked old racist Mormon car salesman, and the MLK holiday controversy is completely different than the illegal immigration issue.

McCain did vote against the holiday when it was first put before a federal vote in 1983, but it wasn't observed until 1986. When Mecham took office in 1987 and wanted to rescind the holiday, McCain changed his stance and even got on board with President Reagan to appeal to Arizona voters to pass the holiday into law in 1990. During that time, the NFL was planning to host Super Bowl 27 at ASU's Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, and McCain went and pleaded with the NFL not to yank the game from Arizona because of the controversy. When the vote failed in 1990, we lost the bid for Super Bowl 27, but McCain stood his ground on the issue and in 1992 the holiday was finally passed into law, after which the NFL then granted Super Bowl 30 in 1996 to AZ.

BamaGrits84

05-20-2010, 08:49 PM

When i first read this story it made me smile. I love when folks stand up for justic. I wish LA needed something from Alabama. We'd all just sit back and laugh.

Miss Foxy

05-20-2010, 08:57 PM

Yeah, good luck with that AZ. LA is too gangsta to put up with that crap:laugh:

LOL!!:laugh:

NateR

05-20-2010, 09:27 PM

Looks like California is going to have start boycotting itself, because their own penal code sounds a LOT like SB 1070...:rolleyes:

Los Angeles should do everyone a favor and just sink into the ocean, then this country would be a lot better off.

It's funny how so many people who disapprove of the law have failed to read it.

Typical far left nutjobs though...anytime they are backed into a corner with logic and reasoning, they immediately become little children who start screaming
http://i36.tinypic.com/vhep3q.jpg

rearnakedchoke

05-20-2010, 09:52 PM

It wasn't McCain who tried to rescind MLK day in Arizona, it was former Gov Mecham. Evan Mecham was a crooked old racist Mormon car salesman, and the MLK holiday controversy is completely different than the illegal immigration issue.

McCain did vote against the holiday when it was first put before a federal vote in 1983, but it wasn't observed until 1986. When Mecham took office in 1987 and wanted to rescind the holiday, McCain changed his stance and even got on board with President Reagan to appeal to Arizona voters to pass the holiday into law in 1990. During that time, the NFL was planning to host Super Bowl 27 at ASU's Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, and McCain went and pleaded with the NFL not to yank the game from Arizona because of the controversy. When the vote failed in 1990, we lost the bid for Super Bowl 27, but McCain stood his ground on the issue and in 1992 the holiday was finally passed into law, after which the NFL then granted Super Bowl 30 in 1996 to AZ.

yeah, i know mecham was the one to rescind it ... what i meant was exactly what you pointed out ... that mccain first voted against it, but then succumbed to a few things and changed his mind ... but yeah, you hit it on the head ...

J.B.

05-20-2010, 10:02 PM

yeah, i know mecham was the one to rescind it ... what i meant was exactly what you pointed out ... that mccain first voted against it, but then succumbed to a few things and changed his mind ... but yeah, you hit it on the head ...

I don't think it's a big deal that McCain changed his mind on it personally. He hasn't changed his stance on it since then, and it was a brand new issue at the time. A lot of people who didn't understand or accept it in the beginning have changed their view. A major part of the issue at the time was also that state workers would be getting a paid holiday, and that would cost the state a lot of money. That was big part of the discourse here in AZ.

True that!! lol...And while we are sinking or floating away we will do it with style!!

Tyburn

05-23-2010, 11:40 PM

Well...if AZ only controls a certain amount of LA power, they cant shut the city down completely...secondly...I am quite suprised that LA gets any of its power from out of state...are states supposed to be self sufficient little blocks??

With Texas having the power to leave, lets hope that she isnt connected by the same sorts of wires that LA is to AZ...otherwise she might depart and accidently leave Houston behind or something ahahahahaha :laugh: